Police vow to haul Andy Burnham to court to stop early release of PC Harper's killers

The Police Federation has vowed to take the Government to court in a bid to stop the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers.

Aileen O’Connor, the chairwoman of the body, said releasing Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers onto the streets would anger and demoralise the morale of serving officers in the area.

PC Harper, 28, was killed in August 2019 as he responded to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.

Labour, under Mr Burnham, has exempted rapists and serious sexual abusers from the early release scheme - but not his killers.

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Those charged with manslaughter, including Cole and Bowers, are still eligible for early release just halfway through their 13-year sentences.

A petition started by the Police Federation on Tuesday calling for them to be kept locked up has already reached 100,000 signatures

Ms O'Connor has now said the police would "not forget the Government’s inexplicable and unforgivable decision to allow those who kill police officers to be released early from jail".

Writing in The Sun, she said the Police Federation would "throw everything at this through a proper legal challenge" and would "accept nothing less".

"We will do what we have to do to protect Andrew Harper’s legacy and other victims up and down the country who don’t have a platform to put their points across," she said.

Describing the early release as an "insult" to PC Harper's family, friends, and fellow police officers, she added: "It is a final betrayal from the politicians, who are supposed to be on our side.

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg on Monday denounced the release of PC Andrew Harper's killers, saying he was "beyond disappointed" with the Government and warned it was "demoralising for all police officers and our fellow emergency service workers".

It marked "a smack in the face to every one of us police officers across the United Kingdom, who are out there now risking our lives to keep you, the public, safe", he said.

LATEST ON LABOUR'S EARLY RELEASE SCHEME:

• Penny Lancaster issues harrowing warning to Andy Burnham over PC Harper killers' early release
• Andy Burnham torn apart over 'wasted opportunity' with early release reforms: 'Weakness!'
• Andy Burnham accused of 'rejecting justice' over decision to release PC Andrew Harper's killers early: 'Disgraceful!'

On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Alex Norris confirmed to GB News that he told PC Harper's wife Lissie her husband's killers would be released.

In their conversation, Mrs Harper made "very clear about her disappointment with the decision that has been taken and her anger and her sense of feeling let down", the Justice Secretary admitted.

He also claimed the Government would have liked to have "gone further" with exemptions, but was unable to.

"This is as far as we can go and still have prison places," he added.

Prison spaces are expected to run out by November this year, with Mr Norris saying Labour was just "days away from prison places running out" when it came to power.

Mrs Harper branded the decision to free her husband's killers an "utter betrayal" and an "affront to justice".

The officer was killed after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as the three teenagers fled the scene of the burglary.

The driver, Henry Long, is not eligible for early release under the Government scheme as he is serving a 16-year sentence behind bars.

PC Harper's mother Debbie Adlam said the family was “bitterly disappointed” by the decision, telling the BBC: "Andrew deserves better than this, and so do we."

The Prison Governors’ Association (PGA) has also criticised the late change in policy, arguing it puts "huge pressure" on prison staff and makes mistakes "more likely".

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